Could help the Caribbean island become independent from imported energy

Smaller volcanic
islands in the Caribbean have always had potential
for geothermal
energy use, since volcanoes allow heat from within the Earth to
rise to the surface and transfer to water. Just last year,
several geothermal
reservoirs were discovered throughout the two-island
Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, which will allow it to
produce approximately 50 megawatts of energy. Now, other islands not
too far away are following suit.

St.
Lucia, a small island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea, is set
to create
a series of geothermal plants based on an agreement
with Qualibou Energy,
a U.S.-based renewable energy company. Qualibou Energy signed a
30-year contract with the island's government in an attempt to
extract enough geothermal energy to power the island on its own.

Currently,
St. Lucia imports most of its energy from Mexico and Venezuela,
making the island almost completely dependent on other countries for
its energy resources. To make matters worse, most of the energy
imported to St. Lucia is petroleum.

"All
our energy is produced from oil, which we import," said Roger
Joseph, spokesman for St. Lucia's power utility, who is
pro-geothermal energy. "So from an energy security standpoint,
this gives us more options."

In
addition to providing St. Lucia with independence when it comes to
energy, the development of geothermal plants will also help the
island obtain
cleaner energy. In total, the combined series of geothermal
plants expected to be built in St. Lucia would produce an installed
capacity of 120 megawatts. This is more than enough
energy to power the island. In fact, only one-third of the
total energy produced will go toward powering St. Lucia, which has a
population of 175,000, while the rest will be sent to power
Martinique, a neighboring Caribbean island, via an underwater power
cable.

The
government of St. Lucia and Qualibou Energy would like to complete
the series by 2015, with the first 12 megawatt phase to be completed
and generating power in about two years.

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